What if you discovered your home was filled with dangerous drugs? Drugs that are abused by thousands of Hoosiers every day? Drugs that the Centers for Disease Control say will be responsible for more overdose deaths this year than cocaine, heroin or amphetamines?

The name of this silent killer? Prescription drugs. And odds are that there are some within a room or two, if you are reading this newspaper at home.

The statistics are startling. Last year, 7 million Americans used prescription drugs for nonmedical purposes. More than 2.4 million Americans misused medications for the first time, which amounts to more than 6,600 new drug users every day. The rate among young adults is now more than one in twenty. Prescription drugs are now abused more often than cocaine, heroin and hallucinogens — combined.

Most critically, the substances being abused aren't usually purchased on the street or in a dark alley.

More often than not, they come from a friend or relative's medicine cabinet and don't cost a penny.

Unfortunately, getting rid of your old prescription drugs in a responsible way is not always easy. Unused drugs thrown in the trash can be retrieved. Simply flushing them will contaminate our water supply. Despite these challenges, the proper disposal of these drugs is critically important — it both saves lives and protects the environment.

That is why the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. attorney's office have teamed up in Indiana to sponsor a Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on Saturday.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., there will be locations all across the Hoosier state where people can safely, legally, drop off unused or expired prescription drugs for destruction.

This year, we've added more convenient locations to make your drop-off even easier.

In the Evansville area, there are multiple drop-off locations, including both the National Guard Armory, 3300 Division St., as well as the Indiana State Police post at 19411 U.S. 41 North.

At our Take-Back Day last October, more than 188 tons of unwanted or expired medications were taken in at locations across the country. We ask that you take a few minutes out of your day this Saturday to help us surpass that total, and in the process make your home — and this community — a much safer place.